Barbara Bush blamed Trump for a heart attack she had during the 2016 Republican primaries

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Barbara Bush blamed Trump for a heart attack she had during the 2016 Republican primaries

Barbara Bush

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Former first lady Barbara Bush

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  • Former First Lady Barbara Bush, who died in April 2018, blamed a heart attack she had in June 2016 on President Donald Trump.
  • Bush was filled with "angst" over the state of American politics and her son's battle against Trump in the 2016 Republican primary.
  • The former first lady was so disillusioned by Republican politics by early 2018 that she no longer considered herself a Republican.

Former First Lady Barbara Bush, who died in April 2018, blamed what she thought was a heart attack in June 2016 on President Donald Trump.

While the episode was not technically heart attack, Bush, whose son Jeb ran against Trump in the 2016 Republican primary, was filled with "angst" over Trump and the state of American politics at the time, according to an excerpt from a new biography of the former first lady, "The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty," by Susan Page.

According to Page, Bush's episode "hit her like a sledgehammer" and the former First Lady was taken to the hospital.

While Bush recovered from the 2016 attack, she died less than two years later at the age of 92. She suffered from both lung disease and congestive heart failure.

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"I'm trying not to think about it," Bush told Page in an interview a year into Trump's presidency. "We're a strong country, and I think it will all work out."

Read more: Here is the life and legacy of former President George H.W. Bush in photos

In February 2018, Barbara Bush - one of the most well-known faces of the Republican party - told Page that she no longer considered herself a Republican.

Read more: Inside the 'storybook' marriage of Barbara and George HW Bush - who were been married longer than any first couple, and still said 'I love you' every night

Bush was married former President George H. W. Bush, who died in December 2018, for 73 years and the two survived by their five children, 17 grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren.

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